Rochester's City Council: For the first time in a very, very long time, they failed to deliver their usual 9-0 ( unanimous ) voting pattern!

Something very unusual occurred last night ( March 19, 2013 ) at Rochester’s monthly City Council meeting.

It was NOT like a lunar eclipse, a meteor shower or an aurora borealis.

While as majestic and awe inspiring as those events are, they are predictable and occur with relative frequency. They are not “unusual.”

What I am referring to is, last night, for the first time in a very, VERY long time, legislation passed by Rochester’s City Council did NOT occur with the usual 9-0 ( unanimous ) vote.

Well, at least for two pieces of legislation: approving a ten-year lease for a police substation in the Sibley Building AND $1 million to renovate it!

Ten years ago, then-police chief Duffy eliminated the neighborhood police precincts in favor of an east-west headquarters in order to save $1 million. THAT was a one-shot deal, and the effect upon the neighborhoods was disastrous.

The neighborhoods felt betrayed and abandoned.

Nor were the neighborhoods reassured by the police department’s frequent claims that response times are actually down. We didn’t believe them.

Ignoring neighborhoods, especially the poorer ones where crime is rife, or those neighborhoods that are “in transition” ( a euphemism for decay and entropy ), has been a hallmark feature of the Duffy/Richards administration.

The Honorable Adam McFadden, City Councilman for the south district, stated that he has long been demanding greater police presence in some of the more crime-ridden neighborhoods of his district. A police substation in the Sibley Building would not cut it. And it was too expensive; the money would be put to better use to fund summer programs for urban youth to cut down on crime.

Alex White, Green Party candidate for mayor, made the same statement to City Council just prior to its regular meeting. Alex also pointed out that there were numerous buildings downtown that Citygov could buy for far less than renting and renovating space in the Sibley Building.

Nor was Richards’ “explanation” for such a move very convincing.

Mr. McFadden was one of the three City Councilmen who voted against such a move. He was joined in opposing it by City Councilman-at-large the Honorable Loretta Scott and City Council President the Honorable Lovely A. Warren, Esquire.

But the bill passed 6-3; Mayor Richards got what he wanted.

A police substation is merely the latest focal point in Richards’ rather murky plans for downtown revitalization…at a time when Rochester will be hard-pressed to balance this year’s budget without making cuts to essential services. A police substation in the Sibley Building is actually a consolation prize for Boston’s Winn Company, which recently purchased that valuable piece of downtown real estate for a pittance.

For no really good reason, the Winn Company purchased the Sibley Building thinking that Monroe Community College’s downtown campus would remain its tenant. MCC already made it clear before the Winn Company ever bought the Sibley Building that they wanted to move. When it became clear to the Winn Company that Richards really had no influence over MCC’s decision whatsoever, they attempted to offer MCC a deal to stay: they would charge MCC less to renovate the Sibley Building for their purposes than moving the downtown campus would cost.

It was a case of “too little, too late.”

So Richards provided the Winn Company with a new tenant: the police substation, courtesy of Rochester’s taxpayers!

While it was delightful to see conflicting opinions on this subject, or any subject, for that matter, occurring at a public meeting of Rochester’s City Council, old habits die hard. The rest of the meeting produced the usual 9-0 voting pattern, with an abstention by City Councilman-at-large Matt Haag in the area of promoting sexual health for young people, and his sole opposition to amending the city charter with respect to financial disclosure statements.

In short, these were unique occurrences. They are NOT predictable. But it does show that on very rare occasions, some City Councilman CAN think apart from the herd.

Just not enough to overturn the mayor’s proposed legislation, even if such legislation has a negative impact on the majority of the taxpayers of Rochester, and is detrimental to the neighborhoods!

Rochester City Council President the Honorable Lovely A. Warren, Esquire: We are waiting to hear if she will run for the office of mayor.

An open letter to Rochester City Council President the Honorable Lovely A. Warren, Esquire.

Lovely, where are you?

In January, when you announced you were considering your options to run for the office of Mayor of Rochester this year, it shot a thrill of hope into what otherwise would have been yet another farce of an election in our one party town.

In February, you stated that you would make your decision public “next month.”

Next month is here!

Will you run?

You are young, bright and energetic. You have political connections and a powerful base of support in Rochester.

Don’t underestimate your strength. That is precisely the reason why ex-mayor Bob Duffy doesn’t want you to run, because you might very well win by defeating his proxy on the mayoral throne.

The office of mayor is NOT within Duffy’s gift to give. And are you certain that Duffy’s promise of support in a future mayoral election is worth anything?

Even in a one party town, there have to be differing opinions within that party, notwithstanding City Councilman-at-large Matt Haag’s attempts to whitewash City Council’s 9-0 voting pattern. It is no travesty for two people within the same party to vie for the same office. Such a campaign would clear the air and make public differing solutions to the problems that plague our city.

It would also give the voters a real choice…even if it IS between two members of the same political party. That is far better than the one man show Duffy and Richards are proposing, which is a sham: a “fixed” election.

The Republicans have long abandoned active participation in Rochester’s body politic, so no differing opinions or solutions will come from that quarter.

And, as well meaning as is Alex White, most voters see him as representative of the extreme far left. Alex’s campaign will provide some thoughtful insights as to solving Rochester’s problems, and therefore provide some lively debates, but can he win?

Which is why you must run, Lovely.

Eight years of the Duffy/Richards administration has exhausted our cash reserves. We will be suffering huge annual budgetary shortfalls because they are still thinking within the box and failing even to attempt finding new formulas for Rochester to balance its budget without drastic cuts. Our schools continue to deteriorate. Our poverty level continues to escalate to shameful levels on a national scale. Real jobs paying real living wages vanish overnight. Despite the claims of Police Chief Sheppard, our reputation as a violent city continues. Our share of state aid lags far behind Buffalo and Syracuse, despite the “benefit” of Duffy being lieutenant governor.

I know that you understand this, Lovely. You grew up in poverty; your northeast district is the poorest patch of Rochester, filled with helplessness, hopelessness and despair. By your own strength of will you rose out of that to become a political force in Rochester, enough so that the mere hint of a “Warren for Mayor” campaign threatens the lieutenant governor and the entrenched elites who fiddle while Rome burns.

Use that strength NOW, Lovely! The time is NOW! Run for mayor NOW! We need a real election NOW!

City Council President, the Honorable Lovely A. Warren, Esquire: Only a "Warren for Mayor" campaign will give this mayoral election a semblance of democracy and choice.

2013 is a big election year for the City of Rochester.

There are five City Council-at-large seats up for grabs, as well as at least three School Board seats and the jewel of the crown, Rochester’s mayoral throne.

All of the incumbents have announced their intentions to seek re-election. They will cite their “proven experience” in overseeing a city in decay and a school system in chaos as our reason to put them back into office where they can continue to do more of the same.

In return, for the City Council and School Board seats at least, they will be enjoying the perks, prestige and paychecks that come with Rochester’s highest paying part-time jobs. Part-time jobs that pay well above the median income for most full-time workers in Rochester.

During election years, they come crawling out of the woodwork and attend neighborhood functions to give the appearance that they are one of us, that they are really concerned. Then, once re-elected, they vanish…until the next election.

The incumbents feel that they are owed re-election by something akin to hereditary right, and are looking askance at “outsiders” who are seeking the Democratic nod to run against them.

There will be doubtless a few third party candidates running for city offices as well, probably from the Green Party and the Libertarian Party. But the odds are stacked against them: Rochester has long been a Democratic one-party town.

The Monroe County GOP has long abandoned Rochester to its fate, concentrating on holding the Republican controlled suburbs. The Rochester Republican Committee, under the languid leadership of Thomas V. Fiorilli, has seen its most vital, active, energetic and concerned members leave over the last few months. The city Republicans are no longer a force to be taken seriously within the body politic of Rochester.

The Green Party's candidate for mayor, Alex White: "For a generation, the only serious challenge to Democratic incumbents have come from Democrats themselves."

When the Green Party’s Alex White announced his candidacy for mayor in February, he stated that, for a generation, any serious challenges to the Democratic incumbents in Rochester have come from within their own party.

Enter the Honorable Lovely A. Warren, Esquire, President of Rochester’s City Council.

In January, Lovely announced that she was considering her options to run for mayor in the 2013 election, challenging the current mayor, incumbent Tom Richards.

Richards was counting on running unopposed by any Democrat.

Lovely, a bright, energetic young woman, has had several years experience in Rochester’s Citygov. Lovely has an impressive base of political support within Rochester, and her credentials as a Democrat are far superior to Richards’.

And, frankly, only a mayoral campaign by Lovely Warren would restore any semblance of choice in this election! This, despite the intentions of the well-meaning Alex White.

Which is precisely why the former mayor and current lieutenant governor Bob Duffy put pressure on Lovely to withdraw: She could very well win.

Richards was Duffy’s hand-picked proxy on Rochester’s mayoral throne; Richards, in return, carried over the Duffy administration virtually intact. And Duffy wishes to preserve Richards as his proxy.

As for Richards, he demanded ( and got ) the “special election” to avoid a Democratic primary. Richards’ dismal showing in the “special election” was a pyrrhic victory: he won with less than fifty percent of the vote. The majority of voters did not want Richards as mayor. A Warren campaign for mayor would result in a Democratic primary vote, which is what Duffy and Richards wish to avoid at all cost.

Neither Duffy nor Richards want the voters of Rochester to have a real choice in this election.

Which is why Lovely Warren MUST run! To give the residents of Rochester a real choice!

THAT supposition has some basis in fact: the habitual unanimous voting pattern of Rochester’s City Council.

This has become a bitter joke among those of us who watch City Council in action.

City Councilman-at-large Matt Haag: Do all Democrats act alike? His explanation about City Council's 9-0 voting pattern was totally unconvincing!

On February 25, City Councilman-at-large Matt Haag ( running for re-election, of course ) broached that subject himself. To what purpose, I have no clue.

Haag claimed that he and his fellow City Councilmen have the same questions about legislation as the rest of us do. But, in committee, these questions are answered so skillfully that a harmonious consensus is produced, resulting in 9-0 approval during the public City Council sessions…time and time again! For nearly all of forty or fifty pieces of legislation every month!

Generally, only the absence of a City Councilman or two, or a conflict of interest, would result in a lesser, unopposed vote.

Frankly, Haag’s statement smacks of Candide. It was not convincing.

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Of course, the same argument could be used for the Monroe County Legislature, which perpetually votes unanimously…along party lines, with the Republican majority riding roughshod over the Democratic minority!

Where does that leave us this election year?

We’ll see incumbents condescending to appear among us, telling us about their “successes” in office for a few months until the election. We’ll see some new Democratic faces vying to replace the old Democratic ones on City Council and the School Board, telling us they intend to do better. We’ll see some familiar third-party faces running for city offices, claiming that they will provide a different point of view for Citygov.

And then, there is the mayoral race.

It is bad enough that Rochester is a one-party town without having three men in a room deciding that only one candidate from that party will run. Which, again, is why Lovely Warren MUST run. To give people a real choice, not to have it imposed on us by the former and current mayor of Rochester.

That is the major peril and pitfall of our one-party town. It is a travesty that Duffy is attempting it.

Tom Richards: After eight years of the Duffy/Richards Administration, Rochester cannot afford to host the 2024 Olympics!

On Wednesday, February 20, Rochester’s current mayor announced that our city had been chosen to vie for the privilege of hosting the 2024 Olympics!

That is quite an honor!

And visions of sugarplums should have been dancing in our heads.

For a few weeks in 2024, global focus would be centered on Rochester. This would have been a shot in the arm for our pride and our local economy.

Then, BAM!

Reality kicked in.

Tom Richards announced that Rochester couldn’t afford it. Rochester has neither the facilities nor the money necessary to undertake such a prestigious task.

That’s true enough…for now.

But what about in four years? Or eight years? Or ten years?

Could Rochester be made ready by then?

Flashback: the mayoral election of 2005.

Bob Duffy’s cheerleaders claimed that he was the only candidate who could “turn Rochester around”

Admittedly, and ashamedly, I was one of those cheerleaders.

As mayor, Duffy substituted his good looks, height and personal charm for any policy with long term goals to improve Rochester. Duffy did provide Rochester with a modus vivendi to muddle through crisis after crisis, offering no real solutions to the problems that continued to plague our city. A practiced smile is not cure for anything.

Duffy’s only major accomplishment came early in the piece: he rid Rochester of that expensive albatross around our necks, the Fast Ferry.

In 2010, before Duffy high-tailed it out of Rochester to become Governor Cuomo’s second banana, he appointed Tom Richards as Deputy Mayor. It was Duffy’s intent that Richards act as his proxy on Rochester’s mayoral throne.

Richards, in return, kept Duffy’s administration virtually intact. This accounts for the fact that, despite Citygov’s attempts to create a “cult of personality” about Richards, Richards’ administration lacks any distinctive coloring or unique character of its own. It might just as well be referred to as the “Duffy/Richards Administration.”

Unfortunately for Duffy, the “special election” for mayor in 2011 was an embarrassment: his proxy won with far less than 50% of the vote. Richards was nearly beaten by ex-mayor Bill Johnson, whose twelve year regime was a disaster for Rochester.

The majority of voters didn’t want Richards.

Duffy realized this. The only way Richards could win an absolute majority in a mayoral election is if he were the only candidate running. Which is why Duffy leaned so hard on City Council President Lovely A. Warren to withdraw from running for mayor this year. Lovely has an impressive political base of support of her own, and she is not tainted by the failures of the Johnson regime.

Lovely could win! And if she did, she could use the precedent set by none other than Duffy himself: to clean house and purge her administration of Duffy’s political appointees.

Duffy, Richards and Citygov want to avoid that at all cost.

But the possibility of Lovely running for mayor is NOT a “travesty:” Duffy’s attempt to strong arm her into withdrawing IS!

Fast forward to the present.

Tom Richards announced that we couldn’t afford to play host to the 2024 Olympics.

Rochester is not ready now, and Rochester, under the continuation of the Duffy/Richards administration wouldn’t be ready then, either.

In fact, eight years of the Duffy/Richards Administration has NOT turned Rochester around.

Rochester ranks seventh in the nation for child poverty. Rochester ( Monroe County ) ranks first in New York State for infant mortality. Rochester has, arguably, the worst public school system in the state. Rochester is perceived as a dangerous place, the “Murder Capital of New York State!”

In fact, the highest number of murders in Rochester took place when Duffy was the city’s police chief.

And our poorest neighborhoods are being ignored and continue disintegrating, the Josana Plan be damned. Citygov is more interested in building more expensive and grandiose monuments to itself with money we don’t have!

Richards himself has been forced to admit that Rochester’s eroding tax base can no longer sustain the cost of administering the city. That’s true enough.

According to Alex White, the Green Party’s candidate for mayor this year, there are thousands of abandoned houses in Rochester that are effectively off of the tax rolls. Nor are the remaining properties in the city being taxed fairly. Some are taxed at their fully assessed value; some are allowed to pay far less than that. And devil’s bargains with entities like the Wilmorite and Winn Companies resulted in payments in lieu of taxes, which again pay far less than their properties’ assessed values.

Yesterday’s article by the D&C’s Joe Spector states that there is little benefit to the cities of New York State to raise property taxes to the legal limit. The costs to administer the cities still wouldn’t come close to being covered by that action. The article points out that Buffalo, New York State’s second largest city, is already under the state’s financial control, and that 50% of Syracuse’s property is exempt from paying property tax.

Interesting, but not news. Our local governments have known about this for quite some time, but preferred to muddle on from crisis to crisis rather than plan for the future, expecting someone else to fix it!

Where does that leave us?

Well, Tom Richards is running for mayor in a real election this year. Basing it on what? What can Richards offer us for the next four years, except more of the same…which has been none too good.

Eight years of the Duffy/Richards Administration hasn’t “turned things around.” Four more years of it won’t do it, either.

Despite Citygov’s claims that Rochester is “poised for greatness” or that Rochester’s “time has come,” that is merely rhetoric from people who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo ( i.e., their high-paying positions within it or connections to it ).

That we can’t afford to host the 2024 Olympics is true enough, largely because the Duffy/Richards Administration has ignored and continues to ignore the root problems that plague our city. It continues to offer a modus vivendi rather than long term programs with serious solutions.

And continuing the Duffy/Richards Administration won’t bring any marked improvements to Rochester.

The "Urban Village" of College Town: A private developer sticking it to the taxpayers of Rochester with the blessings of COMIDA and Citygov!

In a story released today by the D&C, COMIDA ( the County Of Monroe Industrial Development Agency ) yesterday struck an agreement that gives the developers of College Town tax breaks to pay off a federal loan.

Which leaves taxpayers holding the bag. Somebody has to make up the difference to continue to provide the services residents expect. The “somebody” is us.

COMIDA is famous for this sort of action. They claim it allows for greater financial investment into the Rochester area, and that means “job creation.” They also entered into similar a deal with the Winn company some months ago. This was on top of the cushy deal Citygov made with the Winn Company, where the Winn Company will be making payments in lieu of taxes…and those payments are far less than the taxable assessed worth on the Sibley Building. AND it was a worse deal ( on paper ) than Citygov made with Wilmorite’s dummy corporation Rochwil. Which was also unenforceable.

The jobs usually created by COMIDA’s shenannigans refer to part-time/ full-time minimum wage jobs…with the developers laughing all the way to the bank.

College Town is a project that was developed by some out-of-town businesses ( notably Fairmont Properties LLC of Cleveland, Ohio, which actually set up College Town Rochester LLC ).

The University of Rochester, which owns the vacant land on Mount Hope Avenue upon which College Town will be built, is contributing nothing to this project, despite the fact that it is heavily endowed.

The University of Rochester has recently become famous as Rochester’s ( current ) biggest employer. It is also the most expensive institution of higher learning in this area; most of Rochester’s children are unable to afford the U of R’s steep tuition.

Yet, last year, Citygov undertook to take out a federal loan of $20 million, which it, in turn, loaned to the developers of College Town. This came at a time when Rochester’s current mayor, Tom Richards, said taxpayers had to bite a $25 million bullet in regards to Rochwil and the Sibley Building.

Of course, Citygov claimed that the developers of College Town would pay back the loan at 1% interest.

What COMIDA’s deal with College Town Rochester LLC means is that, instead of paying the taxes they should be paying, and then repaying the loan from the city, they will be using those funds to pay the loan! In short, the taxpayers of Rochester are again losing out.

Isn’t it a pity that the Rochester area is seen as being so undesirable that no developers can be persuaded to come here without offering them huge bribes that only end up hurting the working class taxpayers?

The D&C also published a rather charming artist’s rendition of what College Town will supposedly look like, a pleasant “urban village,” featuring retail and office space as well as residential units. It looks very pretty!

It’s a pity that similar concern is not being taken with Rochester’s more troubled neighborhoods, like Bull’s Head, or Clifford and Clinton, or Goodman Street North. Or perhaps Citygov feels that some pathetic “spot-dabbing” is all those neighborhoods deserve, and the developers don’t feel that its worth wasting their money there.

Elmwood and Mount Hope are not one of Rochester’s typical poverty stricken neighborhoods, and the U of R doesn’t own property in those neighborhoods!

Of course, we are assured by Citygov that eventually College Town will be paying its property taxes and its sales taxes. Eventually. Hopefully, we won’t see the “Second Coming” first.

In the meantime, College Town Rochester LLC will be allowed to repay the loan Citygov took out for them with the taxes they should be paying to Rochester and Monroe County in the first place. We, the taxpayers, will have to bite the bullet on that, as well.

And this comes at a time when Citygov faces a $37 million ( at least ) shortfall for this year’s budget! There will be no bail out from Albany for us this year…so much for the “benefit” of having a former mayor of Rochester playing at being lieutenant governor of New York State.

As for Citygov, why don’t they bother to tax all property in Rochester at its assessed value, rather than allow some big property owners to get away with paying merely a pittance of what they owe? THAT would fill the city’s coffers and eliminate the need to worry about cutting essential services, although it might cost some politicians the financial support of such property owners during their election campaigns. Maybe THAT has something to do with it.

And, of course, this comes at a time where our property tax base has eroded to the point that we heavily depend upon the sales tax to make ends meet, especially since ( according to Alex White, the Green Party’s candidate for the 2013 mayoral race ) thousands of vacant buildings in Rochester are effectively off of the tax rolls.

Where do we, the working class taxpayers of this area, go to make a deal NOT to have to pay our taxes? Nowhere. We are not important enough to play “Let’s Make A Deal” with the city or the county. But we had better remember our place when it comes to paying our tax bill!

COMIDA and Citygov’s deal with College Town Rochester LLC is a perverted version of the old “Robin Hood” legend; here, they rob from the wretch and give to the peer!

Rochester’s 2013 mayoral election has just gotten a bit more interesting!

Alex White, a frequent candidate for elected office and a very vocal critic of Citygov, announced his candidacy for mayor on the steps of City Hall at 1 PM today ( February 11 ).

Citing the perpetual failure of Citygov to address the issues of job creation, crime and violence, the city’s huge stock of vacant housing and office space, and Citygov’s habit of frivolous spending with no apparent concern for future consequences, Alex made it clear that he, too would be running for mayor.

This follows hard on the heels of Rochester’s current mayor, Tom Richards’, rather understated announcement last week that he would be seeking re-election. This was in response to City Council President Lovely Warren’s statement that she was considering her options to run for mayor.

The importance of the 2013 mayoral election cannot be understated; it has the potential to finally lay to rest the crisis of the mayoral succession and the farce of the “special election” caused by ex-mayor Duffy moving up the political food chain to become Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “second banana.”

Duffy’s departure revealed flaws in the city charter involving the mayoral succession that resulted in several lawsuits being brought against the City of Rochester.

The sole reason behind the “special election” is that Richards refused to be appointed to the office of mayor by the City Council and wait until the following November ( 2011 ) to run for that office. Richards expected to be the only major player in the “special election.”

Unfortunately for Richards, ex-mayor Bill Johnson came crawling out of the woodwork to challenge him during the “special election.” Johnson, whose administration was mired in spectacular, costly failures and resembled a racket more than a regime, claimed that he was giving Rochester’s voters a “choice”…between a rock and a hard place.

The Rochester Republican Committee neither ran a candidate of its own, nor openly endorsed another candidate, although a few members of its “Executive Board” were engaged in a surreptitious “Republicans for Johnson” campaign, which did Johnson no real good in the long run, since the Johnson administration was anathema to most Rochester Republicans.

And, in the “special election,” Alex White was the only candidate with a real program for change and rebuilding our decaying city. Richards and Johnson rested on the laurels of failure.

Alex lost the “special election,” but he drew nearly ten percent of the vote. Richards won, narrowly defeating Johnson. But Richards got way less than fifty percent of the vote, making him a minority mayor.

Most of the voters didn’t want Richards as mayor, “special election” be damned.

Many people still believe that Richards isn’t even the legitimate mayor!

Which is why this election is so important.

And Alex White is running for mayor again!

Unfortunately for Alex, times have changed in the last two years.

Richards sits more securely upon his throne, because the Democrats have been busily trying to create a “cult of personality” about him to make him more “popular,” if no more successful in addressing any of Rochester’s ills.

City Council President Lovely A. Warren: Untainted by scandal. Lovely is more representative of Rochester than the other two candidates for mayor.

City Council President Lovely Warren is not tainted by the failures of the Johnson administration. A bright, energetic and sympathetic young woman, she has worked her way up from poverty and dedicated herself to public service. Lovely’s background resembles more completely the struggles, hopes and aspirations of the majority of Rochesterians than do Richards or Alex. And, she has an impressive power base within the Democratic Party.

Which is why the lieutenant governor has leaned on Lovely to withdraw from this race. Lovely is perceived as a real threat to Richards, and Richards was the lieutenant governor’s choice to succeed him as mayor!

Tom Richards: Rochester's current mayor. Most Rochesterians didn't vote for him in the "special election" in 2011.

That is the problem with Rochester’s generation-long rule by one party, and the obvious expression of it! As well as a frightening example of political ego.

As for the Republicans, they will probably sit the mayoral race out, again. They have nobody with impressive enough credentials to run for mayor. The Rochester Republican Committee and its leadership are moribund, anyway, useful only for providing money and manpower to county races.

And Alex?

Well, he is sporting a new haircut! But he is still correct about the flaws in Citygov. And he still has a program to turn the city around.

Unfortunately, Alex’s visible association with the more Leftist groups in Rochester’s body politic, such as the “Occupy” movement, is not reassuring to the moderates, to say nothing of the Right. Nor will it win him the support of the Police Department or the Fire Department, nor the big business interests that have waxed fat on Rochester in decay.

Downtown Rochester in its heyday: blowzy charm, but thriving and bustling!

There has been much talk about redeveloping downtown Rochester for the last twenty or so years; the recent purchase of the Sibley Building by Boston’s Wynn Company is just the latest chapter in that ongoing saga.

The last, rich gasp of a thriving and bustling downtown Rochester was in the 1960′s and 1970′s.

Main Street was lined with nationally and locally owned department stores. Locally owned specialty stores filled in the gaps. There were restaurants, bars and nightclubs downtown. At one time, there were as many as eight movie theatres within the confines of the Inner Loop.

Admittedly, there were a jumble of architectural styles along Main Street, but this only added to its blowzy charm! And who could forget the image of “Jenny” at the corner of Main Street and North Clinton Avenue?

Downtown was THE destination in Monroe County!

Unfortunately, at the same time, “white flight” to the suburbs was taking place. The riots of 1964 fueled this process, leaving a burnt out ring surrounding downtown. Suburban plazas and shopping malls were springing up to take the place of downtown Rochester as a “safe” shopping venue. Even the locally owned Wegmans supermarket chain abandoned Rochester, leaving only one city location open, on the city’s toney east side.

National retail chains were buying out the local department stores, closing up their downtown locations to concentrate on the suburbs. The locally-owned specialty shops followed suit and Rochester’s night life soon became a thing of the past.

Downtown Rochester became a ghost town after 5 PM and on weekends.

Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to do about it, how to revitalize or reinvent Rochester. Numerous attempts to reverse downtown’s decline into decay have all failed, and have been costly failures.

To “save” the Sibley Building, Citygov turned it over to Wilmorite. The County promptly located MCC’s downtown campus there so Wilmorite’s dummy corporation, Rochwil, would have a rent paying tenant. This satellite campus serves no other real purpose ( except to provide employment for its politically appointed administration, at the taxpayers’ expense ). However, the few hundred students making use of this satellite campus do provide bodies downtown, to make it look busy. It’s all done with mirrors, you see.

Ex-mayor Bill Johnson occasionally used hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund studies on how to improve downtown Rochester, only to ignore the results. Johnson promptly attempted to create a new entertainment venue away from downtown Rochester: High Falls! THAT proved to be a costly mistake!

Nor did Frontier Field and Sahlen Stadium provide any benefit to downtown Rochester; people attending events at those locations promptly leave the area at their conclusion. There is nothing downtown for them to stick around for.

Ill-conceived plans to revitalize downtown Rochester, like “Renaissance Square” and “Paetec Tower” ( pushed by Republicans for the former and Democrats for the latter ), went down in costly flames.

So, how to revitalize downtown?

Well, there are two schools of thought about the matter.

One is to bring businesses, goods and services back to downtown Rochester that will entice people into returning to make use of them. That sounds good, except that major retailers don’t see downtown Rochester has having a market for them. Rochester is also seen as being “unsafe,” which is hardly an inducement for such businesses to locate here. UNLESS Citygov offers them deals that we cannot afford, like with Wilmorite and the Wynn Company, only more!

Subscribing to that school of thought are the wealthy social and cultural elites of Rochester, typified by millionaire Arnold Rothschild. Rothschild believes that Rochester will be revitalized by building a “Broadway-style Theatre” there. Such a theatre was a focal point of the “Renaissance Square” fiasco, although there was no money for that part of the project. While Rothschild and the Rochester Broadway Theatre League say such a theatre is absolutely necessary ( it isn’t, but they want it ), they are unwilling to fund its creation. They want it built at the taxpayers’ expense. This will somehow cause people to flock to downtown Rochester, and other affiliated businesses will spring up as a result.

The threat, of course, is if Rochester won’t do it, the Rochester Broadway Theatre League will build it elsewhere…if they can find someone to foot the bill!

For once, Mayor Richards hasn’t given in to this bit of blackmail.

And the Rochester Broadway Theatre League claims that they will be locating to the Medley Centre ( i.e., the failed Irondequoit Mall ).

The second school of thought about downtown revitalization is that if more people reside in downtown Rochester, the businesses, goods and services will follow because then there would be a market for them. The city’s vision of downtown as a “mixed use” site, therefore, focuses strongly on a residential component. In short, to create a downtown “neighborhood.”

This is a unique and somewhat exciting possibility: downtown was primarily a destination, not really a residential section of Rochester ( save for a few enclaves like Gibbs Street, the YMCA, the YWCA and a few fleabag hotels ).

It also makes some sense.

Then, BAM! Reality!

Most of the housing proposed, whether it be condos or rental apartments, will cost way more than most Rochesterians can afford. They are being geared towards wealthy “empty nesters” from the suburbs. Rochester tried this gambit before with 120 Saint Paul Street in the 1970′s. That ended up becoming subsidized housing.

And if, by some chance, wealthy empty nesters choose to flock to downtown Rochester, won’t that create a rather “elitist” atmosphere there, especially since Rochester ranks 7th nationally for child poverty?

Perhaps they can flood the Inner Loop and turn it into a moat and install drawbridges. We’ll be allowed to cross if we can prove our bank accounts are big enough.

And what will be the taxpayers’ cost to subsidize these developers of luxury condos and apartments, at a time when Rochester has a surplus of available housing in other neighborhoods?

One need only look at the parking lot on the northwest corner of Main and Fitzhugh Streets.

Citygov turned over that property to a developer who promptly built townhouses on the site. Perpetual candidate Alex White correctly pointed out that Rochester will be losing more in revenue than it will be gaining by this development!

Is that to be the typical fate of downtown redevelopment or revitalization? This at a time our national economy is in a shambles, and is not about to get better any time soon.

Probably.

So, what is the answer?

I really don’t know, except that Citygov ought to look more carefully into what they are doing before embarking on anymore expensive disasters.

One thing I do know: downtown Rochester has changed forever, and its revitalization has been badly bungled, whatever shape it will take.

The $22 plus million debt that the Wilmorite Corporation “owes” the City of Rochester has been a major bone of contention for years. It has heated up again this year because of the serious cuts that will be have to made to the basic services Rochester provides for its residents. So far, there has been no real attempt to explain to the good people of Rochester why Citygov cannot collect on the debt, at least not in terms that most normal human beings can understand.

Firstly, Wilmorite corporation doesn’t actually own the Sibley Building. Rochwil, a limited partnership subsidiary of Wilmorite ( created expressly for the purpose of owning the Sibley Building ) does.

The explanation for that gets confusing.

Christine Carrie Fein of “City” paper requested just such a clarification from Citygov spokesman Gary Walker on February 10 of this year; the following is Walker’s reply:

“There were no taxes in a technical sense. This was a COMIDA deal in which the property is held by COMIDA and the obligation to pay in lieu of taxes(PILOT) is contractual. This means that the City and County do not have a tax lien to foreclose. The debt obligations were subrogated (second to) the primary mortgage debt until it is paid, which has not occurred. This was part of the original deal struck back in the 1990′s that we have had to live with.

The real issue is that the property is not owned by Wilmorite or Wilmont, but by Rochwil. It is a single purpose entity whose only asset is the building. Even after the issues above are cleared away and the 1st mortgage paid, the only recourse would be to take the building. It does not make sense for the City to take the building until there is a plan for how it is to be used. To do otherwise would be to make the City responsible for the building, which would simply add to the loses.

You can be critical of the way the original deal was put together, but at the time it was a legitimate effort on the part of Mayor Ryan to save the building when Sibleys shut down. In any case, that doesn’t do us any good as we need to deal with the situation we inherited and our goal is to use the influence these obligations give to us to get the building back into full service and complementing downtown again.”

While perhaps a bit technical at first, this explanation at least does not rely upon the fabulous esperanto used by lawyers, doctors and other professional people that tends to confuse most of we mere mortals.

But, to put it more simply, we’re stuck with it! and nothing can be done about it.

To quote Green Party politician Alex White, from his “Facebook” page:

“The only way I can understand this is to remember that Tom Wilmorite was a huge campaign donor to the Democrats for years and to Tom Richards.”

I presume that White meant “Wilmont” and not “Wilmorite.”

But it it obvious that White, a small businessman, is just as confused by all of this as the rest of us are, despite “official” explanations.

Of course, this particular situation does much to explain why there were never any real contracts signed, sealed and delivered with Paetec in regards to

The Sibley Building: We're Stuck with A $22-plus Million Debt!

locating their corporate headquarters downtown: it’s Citygov business as usual.

For we mere mortals living in Rochester, we had better remember to pay our taxes…or else. We are, after all, not huge corporate entities or give hefty campaign contributions to the people in power here. There are some sins kings can commit that simple peasants cannot.

It was never a great drama, anyway. It wasn’t even comic opera or operetta, but more slapstick than anything else.

At any rate, Rochester’s current mayor has had enough. The “occupiers” are to leave Washington Square Park on March 11 ( or 12 or 13; the mayor who now is isn’t fussy, just so long as they go ).

And really, with the coming of the spring, it’s more of an eyesore than anything else. Which is why the mayor who now is wants the “occupiers” out, in order to re-sod and re-seed. It’s not that hard an order for the “occupiers” to obey; they are only four of ‘em left in Washington Square Park anyway!

Well, maybe four!

Television news crews were out today and couldn’t find any “occupiers” “at home.” A few did show up once the cameras started rolling. So much for the claim of its “leadership” ( now openly assumed by Alex White of the Green Party ) that they will stay until they have forced social change upon Rochester!

Well, at least their goal was modest; they weren’t trying to change the world, just Rochester’s government. Only they didn’t and couldn’t. They didn’t know how! Nor did their “leaders.” Apparently they are unaware how much at odds they were with the “99%” they claim they are doing this for, or how the vast majority were not taking them seriously. That hasn’t dawned upon them.

The tents, at least, were there, which passersby who work in the area claim are eyesores. The only visible proof of “the movement.”

The mayor who now is took an appropriate shot at the “occupiers:” he wishes to clean up the park to make it available for the “99%” to use! It is the “occupiers” who have become the “1%!” A fitting and ironic reply.

Nor did the mayor who now is accede to the demands of the “occupy Rochester” movement today. By refusing to negotiate with “the movement,” he tacitly refused to concede to them or their “leaders” the aura of “legitimacy.” And “legitimacy” is what the egos of every protest movement needs to survive. Otherwise, they can be regarded merely as a bunch of loudmouthed kooks.

Alex White, de facto leader of “Occupy Rochester,” believes that the current mayor’s “ultimatum” would be backed up by further arrests. Alex stated that if forty-eight people were willing to be arrested before and sacrifice themselves upon the altar of the “idea,” forty-eight people will again come forth to be arrested when forced to leave Washington Square Park!

Perhaps. And it might very well be the same forty-eight people who were arrested the first time. And none of them were the “leaders.” Perhaps orange jail jumpsuits didn’t appeal to them! And Rochester was unimpressed by their “martyrdom,” although it made the “occupiers” feel momentarily important. Of course, their cases were thrown out of court after the mayor who now is relented and allowed them to stay in the park unmolested. ( That was a mistake; doubtless, it will not be repeated! )

On March 11, the "99%" get Washington Square Park back!

They probably won’t be that lucky after March 11.

Unfortunately for the “occupiers,” Rochester has gotten bored with the tiresome spectacle of “Occupy Rochester” in Washington Square Park. The city was never more than mildly amused by “the movement” anyway. Neither “Occupy Rochester” nor its tepid “leadership” were important enough to threaten “the system” nor change it in any way. Their impotence in a declining city has been made embarrassingly manifest.

They ought to thank the mayor who now is for putting out of its misery a poorly directed, poorly produced, poorly acted and poorly attended slapstick comedy whose curtain should have been rung down months ago.

The “special election” has been over for a month now. For all intents and purposes, Tom Richards IS the legal mayor of Rochester. One must assume now that we should move on, and that Rochesterians should pay close attention to what will happen with this year’s budget.

Both Richards and Johnson offered programmes that have been tried, tested and failed. Mid twentieth-century solutions, long past, to the problems facing cities in the rust belt of the twenty-first century.

Only Alex White, the Green Party’s candidate, offered new solutions to the new problems facing declining cities in the twenty-first century, especially in the areas of energy and growing businesses. Alex White might seem an offbeat hero at first glance. But White has been a long-time Rochester resident and small businessman with real ties to the community. White’s programme was real enough for now-mayor Richards to have “borrowed” some ideas from him.

In the political world, theft of ideas is the sincerest form of flattery!

Previous candidates for office also have listed in their manifestos “ideas” as well, mostly borrowed from previous politicians, and occasionally peppered with quotations from the preamble of the Constitution or the writings of the “founding fathers.” Had these handouts been a term paper in high school, the “authors” would have be accused of plagiarism. But this is politics!

But, there was nothing new under the sun in them. It just sounds good!

But Alex White, the “little man,” managed to pull off nearly ten percent of the vote, seven times the number of Green Party registered voters! And this was done with next to no money, just guts and ideas!

Currently, we have no deputy mayor. While Mayor Richards might feel the need to heal the division within the Democratic party and bring someone in from Johnson’s side. The only effect this will have is more of the same, more of what we have become accustomed to: failure, and being hopelessly out of touch with the economic and ecological times!

So, why not choose Alex White as deputy mayor? Surely our now patently flawed city charter might be flexible enough to permit a third-party person from serving under a Democratic mayor as his deputy mayor? It certainly seemed so during the first two months of this year. At least, with White as deputy mayor, new ideas would be in close proximity to the ruling elite among the Democrats in City Hall. Or, perhaps, that’s what they are afraid of?

Contributors

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Rich Gardner has been writing about the history, culture and waterways of Upstate New York for years. His articles have appeared in U.S. and Canadian publications, and one book, Learning to Walk. He is an alumnus of Brighton High School and SUNY Geneseo. He operates Upstate Resume & Writing Service in Brighton and recently moved to Corn Hill, where he is already involved in community projects. "I enjoy the 'Aha!' moments of learning new things, conceptual and literal. City living is a great teacher."

Ken Warner grew up in Brockport and first experienced Rochester as a messenger boy for a law firm in Midtown Tower. He recently moved downtown into a loft on the 13th floor of the Temple Building with a view of the Liberty Poll and works in the Powers Building overlooking Rochester’s four corners as Executive Director for UNICON, an organization devoted to bringing economic development to the community. He hopes to use his Rochester Blog to share his observations from these unique views of downtown.